Donald Trump said he gives Recep Tayyip Erdogan “great credit” for how he handled the failed coup in Turkey. On Wednesday, the Republican presidential nominee praised Erdogan, the president of Turkey, for his ability to “turn that around.”

Trump said that if he were elected president, he would not pressure Turkey to give its people civil liberties. He said the United States should “fix our own mess” before becoming involved with other countries problems. “When the world sees how bad the United States is and we start talking about civil liberties, I don’t think we are a very good messenger,” Trump said.

There was no criticism of Erdogan’s tactics from Trump. In the aftermath of the uprising, there have been “thousands of military, education, and government personnel imprisoned, dismissed or suspended,” RT reported.

In his interview with The New York Times, Trump said that under his administration the United States would only become involved in allies’ security if they “have fulfilled their obligations to us.”

Thomas Friedman discussed the similarities he sees between Trump and Erdogan in a column for The New York Times. Friedman observed that Trump uses many similar tactics: he “fabricates facts and figures,” “regularly puts out conspiracy theories,” and “relies on the us-versus-them bond with his followers to avoid punishment for any of his misbehavior.” Friedman wrote:

If Trump is elected, I don’t think there will be a military coup, but I guarantee you that Jeb Bush’s prediction will be proved true, that he’ll be “a chaos president” just as he’s been a “chaos candidate.” Americans will regularly be in the streets, because they are not going to follow — on any big issue — a man who lies as he breathes, who has not done an ounce of homework to prepare for the job and who generates support by conspiracy theories and making people afraid of the future and one another.

This is not the first time Trump has received criticism for the leaders he has praised. He recently said that, while Saddam Hussein was a “really bad guy,” he was “so good” at killing terrorists. In turn, Trump has received high praise from Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin called Trump “a bright personality, a talented person.”